Pick Up Lines
by AcerbusEquinomin56
Summary: For Azh Hikari - Hiro's interest is caught while he investigates a supposed "crime." But soon, there will be more for him to put up with. Hiro/Tatsuha
1. Chapter 1

He had spunk…I had to give him that. That was the first thing I noticed about him: spunk. Now, naturally, it wasn't as though he was a "punk," he simply had "spunk." Yeah, yeah, I know, _big_ difference that is! Well, believe it or not, it is.

I've known punks. They have their ups and their downs and that is not describing their mood swings either. They have their goods and bads…but, they were missing something—a drive of sorts, an impetus. They just didn't seem to have the steam train that I was looking for. They lacked it.

A punk, to me, is best defined by an overwhelming urge to prove the world wrong. My question is what do you try to prove wrong? Is there some deeper mystery locked behind eternal gates unreachable but to those who fling themselves the farthest? I don't know and I very much doubt I ever will.

Spunk is the closest word that I think I'll ever get to what I'm looking for. Of course, what is "spunk?" I call it, very simply, the will to prove oneself, not necessarily to the world, but the will to find who you are in the world. This is paired with what else I could bear to put up with. If you have too much punk and too little spunk, you can be very irritating to anyone you sit down beside. On the other hand, if you have too little punk and too much spunk, you don't get anywhere.

It takes a balance to get a person who could actually change things. Balance is ironic when you think of Tatsuha Uesugi. He has no outer balance. He hurls himself at anything that comes his way…or for that matter runs away from him…he finds some ways to crawl through cracks and any little loophole of conscious there is. What's a noose for many is a life preserver for him.

But there was a little something that keyed me off to balance. It was his calm. Now, many people can be dead serious most of the time and others as cold as venom like his brother Eiri Yuki, but Tatsuha was simply serene. Naturally, he was energetic…for certain activities and sluggish in others, but through and through, he was serene. He had balance, evenness. Not to say he was level-headed…because he's not. He's level-hearted.

He is where I found what I was looking for.

I believe I first heard about him from Shuichi. For all I know, Shuichi was ranting and pouting and sobbing and all his usual verbs about someone who attempted to molest him. …Now…as Shuichi's best friend, you'd expect me to jump to action and strike some spandex clad pose and scream something like, "What? Evil Doer Beware!" Am I right? Well, with Shuichi, I've gotten used to a lot of drama…**a lot** of drama.

You have to be cautious about everything you hear from Shu-chan because either he didn't want you to hear it or he very intentionally wanted you to hear it. Otherwise known as, he has no mental filter or as I like to call it, "Chronic Mouth River Syndrome." Somehow, he always has something to say…and if he doesn't, he'll make something up…do you know anyone like that?

But, I was cautious and listened and listened and listened until Shuichi finally went hoarse. And when he finally did, he decided to crash at my place and go to sleep. Naturally, I sometimes feel like my apartment is a mother bird's nest where the little chicks come back for holidays and chaos and random news about potential birds of prey. This, Shuichi did.

I thought about what he said though. Don't get me wrong, I do care about what happens to him a lot, but I block some of it out…or at least, I block the soap opera out. Other than that, I listen to what he says. The potential molester was border line for me as to whether or not he actually existed. I went with the safe route and assumed that he did for all intents and purposes.

I decided to check it out. What else is a best friend to do? Leaving Shu dead asleep in dream land murmuring something about his boyfriend and cheese-fries (I was hoping that they were not connected when he was dreaming about them), I hopped onto my motorcycle and roared off (quietly, Shu _was_ sleeping… Aren't I considerate?) to scope out what had actually happened.

I ended up at Eiri Yuki's place sometime near eleven at night. I knocked on the door and patiently waited, looking up and around at the scenery…which was basically a modern house with abstract décor. Eventually (I stress this word), the zombie like writer showed up at the door and shrugged irritation off at his shoulders.

"…What do you want?"

"I heard something about potential molestation, so I thought I'd make sure everything was at least somewhat okay."

"…Either you're a pervert or that brat went whining to you as usual…or both…"

I shrugged and continued staring the writer down. I heard a frisky kind of voice from inside the home followed by a dark haired teenager bouncing up to the door frame.

"Hey, bro! I hear man-voice over there! Don't tell me you're setting up a date without me!"

Yuki callously rubbed his forehead and in between his eyes as the other person launched and landed on his shoulders. I was a little caught off guard. The stranger seemed unaffected.

"Oooo! Who's this?"

Yuki calmly drawled on.

"This is the brat's friend. He was looking for you."

The teenager blinked.

"Looking for me? How come?"

Yuki turned to face me again.

"Here, here's your potential molester."

With that he tossed the stranger out the door and right on top of me. Without another word the door slammed shut and I was on the ground. I looked up to see the person pounding on the door while yelling.

"Hey, come on Bro! Let me in! I still didn't get my Honey Ryu's video! I need that tape! C'mon! Please!"

I didn't hear any arguments against the potential molester comment, so I found pretty good evidence that this was who Shuichi had been talking about. All at once he stopped and sighed, letting his arms droop. He stayed like that for a minute before perking back up. I didn't have a clue as to why until he slowly turned around and smiled widely.

"Hi."

Have you ever gotten cold chills that came out of nowhere? I got those. Nevertheless, I replied.

"Umm…Hi."

He smiled wider.

"Looks like you're a little down on your luck."

I blinked and looked around noticing that I was still splayed out on the ground. Then I caught it.

"That was the cheesiest one liner I think I've ever heard."

He frowned.

"Aw, c'mon, that was a good one! I got worse ones!"

I smirked.

"Like what?"

He screwed up his face in concentration before letting go a stream of things I'll never be able to think of with a straight face again.

"Like, 'Oh, you must be a very down to earth person,' or 'this old world's got you down?' or maybe 'well, you gotta work your way up,' or my personal favorite, 'you know what you're in the perfect position to—'"

I cut him off.

"Stop! Stop! That's enough! Anymore and my IQ will suffer another concussion!"

He huffed before we both looked at each other for a moment and began laughing. I stopped for a second and looked up, still unaware that my legs worked, and asked him,

"I don't think I ever got your name…"

He grinned and beamed,

"I am Tatsuha Uesugi!"

He then seemed to pull off a Spandex clad pose…I was half expecting him to call out, "What? Evil Doers Beware!" But, he didn't. He seemed content with the pose. He also snapped out of it when he noticed me blinking at him. Although I doubt he guessed what I was thinking about, he still came out of his superhero trance.

"Okay, so then who are you?"

"Hiro Nakano."

"Oh…"

He then decided now would be a good time to grab my wrist and hoist me up on my feet, curling his arm around my waist as he did so. His voice got a lot deeper all of a sudden.

"Well, _hello_ Hiro…"

I smiled politely and then unwrapped myself from him before bowing slowly.

"Hello Tatsuha. Well, it was lovely to meet you and I am happy that I could investigate and find solid evidence to my theory, so thank you very much. Goodbye."

Now, it isn't very nice to snub people like that, but…it was near twelve now and I felt like sleeping…**alone**. I very much doubted that I was going to trust the dubbed "potential molester" after midnight in the middle of nowhere, so I decided to leave. That didn't work out.

"Hey! Where ya going?"

He followed me as I strolled away.

"Come back! What's with the polite shtick? Don't leave me here! I don't have anything to do! Hiro! Come back here!"

He eventually caught up and began walking backwards in front of me. He didn't appear to want to leave for whatever reason. I knew that I probably wasn't going to get rid of him, so I offered to distract him.

"Fine then. You don't have anything to do? I know a good oden stand close by here; it's just a few minutes' walk away. Wanna go for a bowl?"

He stopped then. He stood completely still and silent. And then, all of a sudden, he went into some sort of collapse. He dropped to his knees and clutched his bangs, apparently screaming in mock agony. I wasn't quite sure what to think. I slowly, methodically and cautiously bent down and patted him on the shoulder. Big mistake. He instantly grabbed my arm and pulled me to the ground.

In seconds, he was leering over top of me, breathing down into my face. He straddled my stomach and pressed into my ribs with his thighs. He leaned close to my face and whispered, "Do you know why I'm angry?" I didn't have much else choice but to answer.

"No, why?"

"Because you thought of a better pick up line than I did!"

He then reared back and began beating my chest softly like the way a child does throwing a tantrum. Somehow, I thought I'd only see this sort of behavior from Shuichi. …I guess I was wrong. I sat up and he toppled over as I pushed myself up and began walking away. I didn't need more than one hyper maniac in my life.

I heard him from behind me scramble to his feet and run after me. I almost expected his next words.

"Wait! So, are you gonna take me for oden or what?"

The walk to the stand wasn't half as bad now that he seemed to be content, bribed with food. I just continued pacing towards my destination. As I said before, it was only a few minutes' walk, so it wasn't long before we got there.

Ah, my favorite oden stall. How do I describe it? Steamy, hot, delicious. And yes, I use those three words in that order only to describe food, thank you. But still, it was lovely. Tatsuha was in bliss. Between spinning around on the chairs and slurping through the bowl, he was in hog heaven. I was beginning to notice more and more similarities between him and someone else I know.

After a while, conversation happened. I repeat, it just happened. After all, I wouldn't have known what to talk about with this person. It was Tatsuha who instigated the talk.

"So, you're Shu-chan's friend, eh?"

I nodded half surprised and half nonchalant. I was drinking my oden. He smiled.

"So…do ya know where he's sleeping tonight?"

I coughed a little, but managed to keep from spilling any of my precious oden. I had gotten used to a lot more than that. I glanced over at the mischevious look he had on his face. I replied per that look.

"Far, _far_ away from here."

I went back to my oden.

"Aw, really? Bummer….but…then, how's about you?"

I shrugged.

"I have my own apartment."

Tatsuha clucked his tongue with glee.

"D'ya mind if I crash?"

"No can do."

He raised his eyebrows.

"What? Why not?"

I continued sipping, speaking in between gulps.

"I have company."

Tatsuha slumped over and pouted.

"Fine…if you already have someone to bed with ya, you should have said so…"

I bit my lip accidently. It hurt…bad.

"Oww!"

He laughed as I attempted to reply.

"I never said I was seeing anyone."

He countered.

"Oh, neither did I!"

I stared at him for a moment.

"…That made no sense whatsoever."

He shrugged.

"Yeah, I know, but I thought it was worth a try."

I smiled.

Somehow, he goaded me into walking me to my front door. I had a feeling he would act like a lost child if I didn't let him…either that or stalk me home…or both.

It was once again a short ways walk from the oden stand. Thankfully, I didn't have to walk too far because I had the feeling that Tatsuha would have wanted me to carry him if he got tired…and if he was as much like Shuichi as I suspected, that was very likely.

When we arrived at my door, I pulled the key ring from my pocket and twisted the keys one by one. Tatsuha pressed his back to the door frame and smirked. "Well, does this mean I don't get to come in?" I nodded. He sighed and smiled.

"Okay then…well, this was fun. I look forward to doing this again soon!" I blinked. "What are you—"

He cut me off and zoomed right into my mouth.

Now, it wasn't a long kiss because I get my wits back pretty fast after a shock, but it wasn't necessarily the length that was disturbing, it was how deep he had buried into my mouth so quickly. He had angled his head at perfect degrees and shifted open my mouth just enough suck up and off my bottom lip. It was the lip that I bit.

"Oww!"

He doubled over laughing. "HAHAHA! Now, see, that's what you get for not thinking about the consequences for a second date."

I looked back up at him.

"Date?"

He smiled.

"Bro always sets me up with the best guys!"

He began walking away as I tried to protest, but he stopped in his tracks and put a finger in the air.

"Oh…and by the way, even I didn't think that I could get a level-headed guy like you to forget his means of transportation…"

My eyes went wide. I had forgotten my motorcycle. I had forgotten my motorcycle at Yuki's house.

He turned his head slightly and smiled.

"Well, I'll come pick you up on it when we go for our second date, kay? Toodle loo!"

With that he strolled off. I frowned, tired and defeated, and rubbed my head. I picked the right key from the ring and let myself into the apartment just as I heard an extra large snore followed by a screech. Shuichi came bursting from the bedroom looking terrified.

"HIRO! I THOUGHT I JUST HEARD A POTENTIAL MOLESTER IN MY DREAMS!"

I stopped, blinked and walked over, picking Shu up and sticking him back in the bed. He still looked half-conscious when I laid him down.

"It was just a dream Shuichi, just a dream."

I then walked back into the living room area and grabbed my packet of cigarettes. I sauntered over to the veranda and opened the glass door, stepping out into the night air again. I lit up the end of one of the cigs and watched the red sun glow light up the smoke I blew into the air.

The moon peered through the cloud I blew before it. I stared out into the night, crossing my arms and leaning against the railing. The street lamps hummed with moths. A little breeze carried my smoke away, dissipating through the moonlight. I sighed and stared.

"A dream, huh?"

Somewhere off in the distance, I heard a motorcycle rev.

A/N: So, how'd you like it? I hope you all enjoyed this! This is the first thing that I've written in AGES! And I mean in like MONTHS! (Fanfic wise that is)

Well, this story actually came about for one main reason. It was a little inspiration!

See, I only just found out that the lovely Azh Hikari inducted my other Hiro/Tatsuha fic into their community, so I thought I'd PM and thank them for appreciating my writing. Well, this led to that and such, and then, all of a sudden, I simply asked if they'd like a fic since they love Hiro so much and since they'd been so nice and lovely to me.

They did. And so, a few hours after they said what they wanted (which was far more general than this), I just walked up to my room, looked through a few pages of Gravi and sat down and began writing. So, here you have it, a request and a gift fic. (I am writing this just now after revising the fic…which is shortly after I wrote it)

The title is kind of obvious due to all the one-liners in the story, but I meant it to have more than one meaning really…as pick up lines, to me anyway, can also mean an opening or opportunity, like a telephone wire. Who knows how many signals run through them before we get one meant solely for us? The pickup lines were something of a metaphor for opportunity or a counter balance to loneliness, which is what was set up at the beginning of the story with Hiro's explanation (his musing). I tried to let it make sense…but, hey, I have a hard time finding the line between my poetry and prose. ^_^

Although I didn't really intend it to happen (I wasn't exactly trying to prevent it either), the positions were kinda switched for this story (as in the pairing), but this is a romance story, so I'll let you all just finish it on your own.

I actually feel as though I'm getting back to my roots writing Gravi fic again…considering that Gravi was the first series I ever wrote fanfic for…ah, like coming back home after a trip or something. ^_^

This fic is also written almost as though it yearns for another fic to come after it, so there may or may not be a sequel to this, if not a series…

This is dedicated and written for Azh Hikari for giving me the inspiration to finally write the first fic I've written in months since my internet went out and my creative spirit almost died, so THANK YOU AZH! THIS ONE'S FOR YOU!

So, I hope you all liked it!

Review please! I luv my reviewers!

P.S. Thanks again everyone for everything, I'm feeling much better now that I'm back here again!


	2. Chapter 2

It was several weeks before I heard from Tatsuha again. This obviously meant that getting to work was a bit more difficult, but buses are wonderful inventions. In the meantime of my sitting on the bus (and the strange old lady that I somehow ended up sitting beside three days in a row), I had time to think about what on earth happened that night, or more specifically, what happened to me.

It usually doesn't end up that I get the short end of the stick, meaning that it usually doesn't end up that I forget what I was doing. Around Shuichi, I have to be the adult, so trying to balance being the adult with someone as much like Shuichi as Tatsuha is, while at the same time failing…is a little unnerving.

I spent several days trying to work out in my head why I failed or for that matter why I thought I failed.

It was a process.

Some weeks later, my answer came, indiscreetly I might add.

Shuichi was at my apartment for something…what, is the question all modern day philosophers are trying to answer. I think he wanted someone to complain to. I also think I'm right.

We were sitting at the kitchen area, the tall bar in front of the counter eclipsing everything but my shoulders and head as Shuichi sat talking away in a chair. I've taken to staring out the window while Shuichi talks to me. It takes a lot of the turbulence out of his speech.

"So, then I tried to run up and hug him, but he elbowed me in the stomach and called me a brat and Hiro, I don't know he's being so mean to me or what I'm supposed to do! I feel like going over there and giving him a piece of my mind, but that might make everything worse and then he might not forgive me, which I'm pretty sure he would anyway, but still—"

There's only so much a dedicated best friend can take.

"Shuichi, calm down. If you feel that Yuki isn't treating you right, then you should tell him so…just not as hyperactively as you can be…he might take it wrong if you do…"

Shuichi pressed his mute button again and continued.

"Really Hiro? Do you really think he'd listen to me if I told him how I felt because I really want him to know and I think he does know, but I don't know if he knows or not but what if he does know, but he just doesn't want to tell me he knows! Or…what if he feels the same way and he's afraid to admit it? What should I do? Do you really think he'd listen to me?"

Hmm…to use wit or not to use wit, that is the question…

I'll use it.

"Personally Shuichi, I don't think he has a choice…"

Shuichi stopped for a moment, he mind remote on pause, contemplating before hurtling out of the seat and weakly slapping me on the arm.

"Hiro! That's not funny! I have a real problem here and all you can do is make fun of the situation! Really! I need advice! Tell me what you think!"

If the bland look on my face wasn't enough for him, then I suppose I would indulge him. What else was I supposed to do?

"I think that you shouldn't worry about it…really. Just wait for him to cool down and ask him what he thinks. Listen to what he has to say and think about it. Then respond accordingly. That's an honest way to do it."

Shuichi looked inspired. …he jumped me.

"THANK YOU HIRO! YOU'RE A LIFESAVER! I KNEW I COULD COUNT ON YOU TO—"

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

…how _cliché_…

Shuichi stopped and looked up. I detached him from my abdomen and absentmindedly walked over to the door. Note: This is not a good thing to do.

I opened the door. Tatsuha was in the door. Then Tatsuha was in the apartment. Then Tatsuha was on my face…a lot. Though it is not unusual to see Tatsuha on someone's face, it is still rather surprising when it happens to be you that this event occurs around.

I shocked backwards and pushed him off as he grinned maniacally. I wiped my lips off with the back of my hand. It seemed like the natural thing to do.

The tension in the room was best described as awkward.

However, I was brought out of the silence by choking noises heard on the other side of the room. Shuichi stood gaping, pointing his finger in shaking accusation, eyes wide and horrified, making the gurgling noises. All at once we knew what he was thinking.

"IT'S THE POTENTIAL MOLESTER! HIRO! HE'S BACK! SAVE ME!"

Shuichi ran and hid behind my back, staring angrily/frightened at Tatsuha from underneath my arm. Tatsuha didn't seem to mind all that much.

"Well, hello to you too Shu-chan!" He said smiling, curling his fingers into a wave.

I sighed. I didn't feel that the situation would be heading in a positive direction at this rate. I decided to try to alter its path.

"Tatsuha…though it will probably be redundant, may I ask why you have decided to show up here and…physically express your greeting?"

Tatsuha took a moment to decode my question before answering with another grin.

"I've come to pick you up for that second date. I told you I would, so here I am!"

The grin went perfectly with more gurgling noises I heard behind me. Shuichi, however, also went a bit farther than them.

"HIRO? DATE? WHAT?"

He sat down on the couch. I rubbed his shoulder.

"Shuichi…it's a long story…how about I tell you it when I get back?"

Tatsuha squealed in the doorway.

"This means that you're coming with me?"

"I don't think I quite have a choice."

Tatsuha beamed and took a few steps outside, proudly displaying the stairwell Vanna White style. I continued to rub Shuichi's shoulder for a few more moments while he apparently sat in shock. I leaned over and whispered.

"Hey, why don't you stay here for a little while? I've got shortcake and strawberries in the fridge if you'd like…"

He looked up hopefully, quickly coming out of shock at the mention of food.

"And whipped cream?"

"And whipped cream."

"YAY! I promise I won't make too big a mess Hiro! You go on now and I'll see you when you get back, kay? Bye!"

He waved as I made my way out of the apartment, closing the door as I left. I knew that Shuichi would at least have the common sense to lock the door. I turned to Tatsuha who was still standing with a grin, hands frozen in place. I looked at him for a moment.

"What?"

He was waiting for it.

"Are you ready for the time of your life?"

…I laughed and began walking down the stairs while he followed me.

"You've been working on your one-liners, huh?"

"For two straight weeks! I have so many good ones, I'll sweep you off your feet!"

"You're going to need a pretty big broom…"

"…damn it."

"Hahaha…"

###

Tatsuha led me to where he had parked my motorcycle. I was surprised that it was all in one piece and not cuffed, dinged and scratched as I expected it to be…I had thought about it you know. In fact, it looked as though it had been almost redone…like new…

I looked at him for a moment as he gave me another one of his knowing grins.

"You're not the only one who knows a thing or two about motorcycles."

The grin persisted.

I smirked.

"Oh really? And who might the other person be?"

His grin fell into a pout as I laughed and walked towards the motorcycle. But before I could get near it, he ran in front of me and mounted it. He looked back at me, half pouting, half pining.

"If you want to get on, you're going to have to ride passenger style."

I steadied my gaze at him before I sighed and mounted behind him, holding onto his waist. I looked at him and murmured.

"You have this all figured out, don't you?"

"You know it!"

The engine roared and we sped off.

Where we ended up surprised me. It was a quaint little sidewalk café that you'd only find in bigger cities, tucked away in a practically suburban neighborhood. It was bright and sunny, cheerful, with a striped awning and white painted wrought iron tables and chairs. The staff even seemed chipper.

He dismounted first as I let go of his chest after we came to a stop. He took off his helmet and shook his hair vigorously. I blinked and smiled, dismounting and stepping beside him.

"Auditioning for Baywatch?"

He looked at me and then at the helmet then at me again pursing his lips.

"I'll get you for that one…"

I laughed again and he smiled, leading me over to an open area of tables. The area was surrounded by a matching painted iron fence, with a small open gate near the entrance of the restaurant. A large chalkboard sign proclaimed the day's specials and asked customers to choose which seat they liked. Tatsuha chose for both of us as he promptly sat in a sunny seat.

I followed and sat on the other side of the table. There were only two chairs. A large man in black smock and a coordinating apron approached the table before noticing we were sitting there. Or, to be more precise, Tatsuha sitting there.

"Tatsuha! You rascal! You're back again? I thought you had scouted out as much as you had wanted, you scoundrel you! Honestly, I thought—"

He then looked at me.

"…Tatsuha…is he with you?"

Tatsuha nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes he is Dai!"

Dai turned to stare before his cheeks crinkled around his smile. He began strongly patting Tatsuha on the back in a familiar way.

"Why I never thought I'd see the day! I've never seen you bring anyone here! My goodness, this must be someone extra special if you decided to—"

Tatsuha didn't really seem to want Dai to go any further. He shook him by the apron softly.

"Dai! You're embarrassing me! I don't want to hear any history!"

Dai laughed in a deep hearty way that you'd expect him to, but stopped his doting.

"Okay then Tatsuha, I won't bring anything else up in front of the lucky guy, but considering the…circumstances, I've gotta do something special! I'll be right back!"

Tatsuha called out after him.

"Just bring the usual, will you?"

Tatsuha looked different then. It was a cross between youth and wisdom, or more likely experience; a strong windy sense of ironic pleasure. And Tatsuha was soaking it up.

I found myself staring as he glowed with sunlight. I supposed he really had thought a great deal of this out…

But I wasn't about to get lost here, was I?

"So, what's the deal with all this?"

He looked at me nonchalantly, or tried anyway.

"Hmm? Oh you mean Dai? Well, I've known him for a while…"

"No…I mean all the…oh, never mind…"

Tatsuha looked somewhat confused. I sighed and waited for a change of subject. He seemed to catch the cue.

"What's wrong? You seem flustered…got me on your mind?"

It was his grin that removed the offensiveness from that change of pace. I laughed.

"I see you have been working on them after all, huh?"

"Yep and I've got plenty more!"

"Oh dear…"

He sat straighter in his seat and folded his hands eloquently as he spoke again.

"To prepare myself for a greater depth in my lines, I decided to go to the classics…"

I waited. He continued.

"For instance, Shakespeare…shall I compare thee to a summer's day, you're really, really hot!"

It caught me off guard. I'll give him that.

"HA…oh…I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

He looked ruffled, but continued.

"Or perhaps you're more akin to the sensitive? How do I love thee? Let me count the inches…"

I almost fell out of my seat for that one…

"Please don't."

He looked let down.

"What? Why not?" He whined.

"Second date."

"…so?"

We laughed.

###

It was a little while of talking that commenced after that. The conversation didn't consist of many deep topics, or for that matter, any deep topics. It had something to do with a mix of Ryuichi Sakuma, what was done with my motorcycle while it was away, and other one liners that Tatsuha had stored away, presumably waiting for a perfect moment.

However, in the midst of the conversation we grew comfortable around each other. It wasn't so much a friendly kind of comfortable, more like a calm comfort; like a soft, quiet connection. This is a secret of course and usually when this happens, neither person notices it. They're too caught up in the conversation.

Dai reappeared quite suddenly. He seemed to have held off until the last minute, trying to increase whatever it was he was waiting on. I wasn't exactly sure. He walked up to the table, balancing several things. I noticed each as he set them on the table, but not without him speaking.

"Here it is! I said I'd take the very best care of you Tatsuha!" He set down two cups, each filled with a dark red liquid that looked like wine and a large plate of spaghetti, complete with two forks and several large meatballs. I looked at the beverages before noticing Dai looking at me.

"Only grape juice. I'm still not letting this guy have wine until he's old enough."

He poked Tatsuha in the rib. Tatsuha swatted at him.

"Hey, knock it off!"

Dai walked away laughing. While I was caught up in the drinks, I hadn't noticed the obvious lack of plates. I blinked and looked at the table, then at the forks and then at Tatsuha. He was smiling.

"You're kidding."

Tatsuha continued smiling.

"You're not kidding…"

Tatsuha nodded.

"Oh dear…"

"Aw, c'mon! It's not that bad!"

He picked up his fork and began slurping down pasta. From this angle, it actually looked quite good. I picked up my fork and he grinned, a lopsided noodle hanging from the side of his mouth.

"Ish goohw…"

"…I take it that you think it's good."

He nodded.

I smiled and harpooned a bushel of noodles, dipping them in sauce and tasting them all at once. He was right in his hardly understandable assessment. They were good.

We ate as I thought, making sure that he and I weren't going to end up with the same noodle at the same time. I wasn't going to be that predictable.

I watched him a small bit as he ate, diving whole chomps and swallows into the plate. He seemed completely absorbed by the food, which gave me more excuse to think.

So far, he had seemed a little more surprising, and perhaps a bit more real than I expected him to be. But, of course, Tatsuha didn't really have a defining standard, so, I suppose I set myself up for surprise by assuming.

What I didn't know was that I while I had been thinking, I had also been staring, eyes out of focus. Tatsuha noticed and took this interestingly. Before my thought had ended, he had leaned across the table and kissed me.

The thought went into direct correlation and connected with the kiss, coming back to reality, or out of it. The parting was something like a thought departing, to be remembered as he sat back down. I stared at him, this time eyes in focus and almost irritated. Almost.

He answered.

"Meat Sauce."

"What?"

"…well, you wouldn't do the noodle thing like in the movie, so I had to think of something!"

He pouted.

I stared for a moment before backing my shoulders over the seat with laughter, my arms trailing the ground. He looked cutely abashed, his lips puckered to one side before joining in softly with the laughter.

I sat up after a minute or two, finally intent on asking what I'd been thinking all day.

"Why did you do all this?"

He let the last noodle on his fork disappear into his mouth before answering.

"Cause it's a second date and second dates have to be better than the first."

I frowned. That wasn't the answer I was quite looking for.

"No, I meant why…"

"…for you?"

I widened and averted, half eager and half elusive.

"…yeah…"

"Cause I like you."

I looked at him, probably with more doubt than confusion.

"…why?"

He shrugged, seeming to anticipate the questions quietly.

"Because I like you. Do I need a reason?"

"…oh…"

I looked at the spaghetti plate, which was nearly empty except for a few noodles, one rather long one and some excess sauce. I leaned forward, slowly picking one end of the long one up and putting it in my mouth. Tatsuha quickly responded by putting the other end in his mouth.

I drew a bit of it in and he leaned forward so as it wouldn't break. I did so again and he worriedly leaned across the table. I did so once more as he moved inches away from my face…and then I bit the noodle, slurping the rest up. I smiled as he looked destroyed, but rather than move, he instantly bent forward and loudly kissed me again. Then he smiled content with himself and sat back down.

I rubbed my head. I should have expected that.

###

Eventually Dai came back around and smiling, announced that a dinner for Tatsuha and "his friend" was on the house. I thanked him politely as he gave me a strange delighted smile and Tatsuha and I walked back to the motorcycle.

It was already somehow getting dark when our food arrived, so the day was sealing off the last of its light as we reached the road. I supposed we had been talking longer than I had expected. Tatsuha hopped onto my cycle and patted the back part of the seat again. I sighed, but a bit more accepting this time, with a tinge of dry disbelief.

I boarded behind him and he sped off again, the buildings etching shadows at our heels.

When we reached my apartment building, Tatsuha parked where I asked him to, slowing to a stop in a familiar place. I looked around and realized I hadn't been near the parking lot for several weeks. Tatsuha gave a tense whistle and folded his arms.

We both began walking to my door and it appeared we were both thinking, I about the day, he, who knows. The last articles of sun disappeared into a ball of night as street lamps hissed and hummed. They were a velvety ice color.

As we climbed the stairwell, I wondered out loud.

"I still don't think I get it…"

Tatsuha cocked his head.

"Get what?"

I turned.

"Hmm?"

"What don't you get?"

We had both stopped on the stairwell.

"What's up with this day."

"Oh…that."

The stairwell echoed the sound of cement. Tatsuha spoke again.

"Was it nice though?"

I contemplated on my lips.

"I had a good time…"

"Would you do it again?"

Tatsuha looked up in earnest and began climbing the stairs, leading me with him. I didn't know how I looked. The color grey isn't a mirror.

"…I suppose I would…"

We reached my door before he gave his response.

"Then you have your answer."

"What?"

"I'll see you later then!"

"Wait!"

"Bye!"

He dodged my protests and flashed a final grin as he vanished down the stairwell again. I was left working out whether I had really gotten everything in my head correctly. It didn't exactly go together. Plus it was cold, so I decided to go in.

I checked first to see if the door was even locked. It wasn't. Sadly, I was mistaken in assuming that Shuichi would think to do so. I lightly banged my head on the door before entering, standing a glance at the kitchen, which was not originally decorated in thick white foam.

I followed a trail of whipped cream into the guest bedroom where Shuichi had passed out on the bed, half sticky with shortcake ingredients and half rustled with snores. He mumbled again about Yuki and pudding. I left the room.

My cigarettes had changed location as I looked around the living room. I sighed and scratched my head, pulling up my blue jeans and heading out onto the balcony again. It was cold again, but at least shaded by an overhead.

The ice blue glow of the lamps chalked out a map of life, or at least of existence. I noticed a figure far away waving from the sidewalk. I smiled and waved back. I knew there was a reason he left so quickly. The figure seemed to have noticed and continued walking away.

I turned my back to the balcony, letting the cold metal railing sink into my tank top. My breath made a sting in the air and changed directions. I closed my eyes and patterned my forehead with my hand.

I now had more to think about.

A/N: Hello everyone! This is the first piece of fanfic that I've written since Practice Makes Perfect and it makes me so happy to be writing again! Ironically enough, it happened to be this piece for my story Pick Up Lines…

Now, anyone who knows me knows that chapter fics…are not my strong suit. Yet, this seemed to come out so well…

When I first wrote the beginning to Pick Up Lines, I meant it to be something of a one-shot, but it made itself into something that could be continued. After which, I thought that I would like to continue it. I tried several times, but it didn't ever work quite as well.

Then, out of nowhere, all these months later, I reread the fic, read the reviews, and started having ideas. And then this came about.

Well, I like this very much considering I haven't written anything in ages…so I do like it…

Oh, by the way, the poems referenced by Tatsuha in the fic were sonnets, the first by Shakespeare and the second by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (the 43rd of her Sonnets from the Portuguese). So far as I know, I wrote his pick lines based on them. Also, I mean no offense to Vanna White by referencing her. I mean to honor her. ^_^

And The Lady and The Tramp reference…I hope that was clear to everyone…and no, Dai was not immediately Italian in my head…he could be though…with a moustache…but that is optional! And you can imagine him how you like.

Some of you may have noticed that the chronology of this fic and that of the manga may not exactly match. I did base parts of the first chapter on the manga timeline, but for this second part, I practically threw it out the window. This is mainly because I didn't want to be bothered with it at the moment…I hope no one minds and I don't think it will conflict all that much with the manga.

I would like to thank my reviewers:

t.a.g (whoever you are, the review was anonymous)

electromagenta

and Azh Hikari (to whom the story is dedicated)

For all their wonderful comments! It really makes me happy to hear what you think of my story, and even more to hear that you like it! I hope that you liked this part as much as the last.

(As well as the characters, who I tried to keep in contact with)

So thank you!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this part of the story. I don't know if there will be a next part anytime soon…my writing habits are not healthy in some ways…but, I do hope you like this part.

Please review!

Thank you!


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